-- Yarrrr!!! Here it is! Apologies for the day-late updating, but I had an Organic Chem final to study for. Those who have taken this subject know what a headache it is. Before the chapter begins, I must pause and give elk-loads of thanks to Texas Silver, the only one of you out there who has reviewed this story so far! Thank you very much, Silver; you are better than lettuce!! Follow his shining example, you free-loadin' bilgerats! Now...on with the show! - The Cap'n --
Part 10- The Pirate Captain and The Master Magician
(The scene has changed showing a small, red-haired boy in a tiny sailboat out in the middle of the sea. A black patch covers his left eye, but it does not yet have the music note; this is Echo at the age of eleven, two years after his encounter at sea that resulted in the loss of his family and his decision to quest for vengeance. He is glancing around at the open water, staring in all directions.)
Echo: This isn't gonna work; I can't take me vengeance as a one-man crew, even if I have finally mastered me powers! An' this… (touches his patch) Three shots at makin' anythin' happen, then I'll die, eh? Well, it's not like I'll ever be stupid enough to use that third one, no matter what the reason! Anyway, if I'm gonna be the most fearsome sea-dog there is, I gotta start by findin' a fearsome crew! Only the best an' the strongest! But first…I really need a navigator; I'm lost!
(Echo glances up, and sees a thin strip of brown on the horizon. He brightens.)
Echo: Ah-ha! Land ho! Full speed ahead!
(He points a hand at the water behind him and fires out the concentretic blue waves, speeding his boat along swifter than any type of engine. When he reaches his destination, he discovers that he is docked very close to some mountains. He steps out of the boat and walks towards them.)
Echo: There may be a town nearby; I might just find a crewmate! At least there might be a market or somethin' I can pillage fer supplies.
(Thinking these thoughts, he continues on, finally coming to the foothills of some of the smaller peaks. As he is heading through the small, wooded valley between them he suddenly hears a loud explosion.)
Echo: What the-!? Avalanche!?
(Looking around for the source of the sound, Echo finally spots something black near the peak of the smallest mountain. It is a humanoid shape, and it is apparently pummeling every inch of the stone surface it can lay into. At one point, it pulls back it's arms, emits an ethereal shriek, then fires blasts of bright blue energy from it's palms. The entire top half of the mountain is caught in this, and it disintegrates. Echo is staring at it, wide-eyed.)
Echo: Shiver me timbers! That's incredible!
(The floating form has heard him. It turns it's head, and Echo sees two strange-looking eyes staring at him with a look that is filled with bloodlust. The being emits another shriek, then flies right at him. Echo puts up a hand and fires a blast of sound at it. The attack connects, but the glowing creature shakes it off like a light rain and keeps coming. Panicked, Echo reaches up and pulls away his patch, revealing an all-black eye with a glowing green pupil; the Fiend's Eye, a weapon of darkness with unfathomable power. Not wasting a moment, Echo opens his mouth and screams as loudly as he can manage; since he has the power to amplify sounds, he can manage quite a bit. The field of sound created by the scream moves outward in a huge dome, leveling the entire pine forest in the valley. The creature in the sky is hit, and it falls out of the air, landing in a heap on the ground. Echo replaces the patch and grins.)
Echo: An' that, me lad, is why I'm called Captain Echo! Remember it, or ye'll…
(He suddenly trails off and collapses. The Eye has taken most of his energy in exchange for its use. Hours later, Echo awakens. He glances around and sees the humanoid shape from before is lying on the ground next to him. It is wearing thin, black shoes that lack laces and loose, black pants. It has no shirt, and every inch of it's skin is giving off a brilliant white light.)
Echo: White? I remember ye bein' a different color before…
(The creature's eyes suddenly open, and it sits up, rubbing it's head. It turns in either direction, then spots Echo and ducks behind a nearby rock.)
Photon: Go away!
Echo: Oh, ye talk! That's interestin'. Come out here, let me get a look at ye!
Photon: Leave me alone!
(Echo catches the timbre of the voice this time and realizes that there is a seventy-percent chance that this creature he is talking to is a boy.)
Echo: Wait…it's just another lad, like me!
Photon: No, it's a monster and a failure! You shouldn't be talking to me! Leave!
Echo: Aw, don't be that way! It can't be that bad! Go on, let's have a look at ye!
Photon: What!? Forget it!
Echo: Suit yerself…
(Echo points a palm and blasts the rock to pieces. The glowing boy is revealed in all of his luminescence. He scowls and looks at the ground.)
Photon: There. Happy? Go ahead. Scream. Run away. Just like they did. (voice lowers) Just like they all did…
Echo: Wow! That's amazin'! How are ye doin' that!?
Photon: You- You're not…afraid of me?
Echo: Are ye kiddin'!? Yer probably the most interestin' thing I'll see this week! An' before! Where'd ye get so much power!?
(The boy's face suddenly clouds and he turns and walks away. Echo follows with a big grin.)
Echo: Hold on there, mate! What's yer rush!? Stop an' chat awhile!
(The gleaming figure wheels around and glares at Echo. He leans over and it is seen that he is a couple inches taller than the red-head, just as he is in the present.)
Photon: Listen, whoever you are, take a good, close look at me. What am I?
(Echo rubs his chin and raises an eyebrow, pondering this question while analyzing the glowing form in front of him. After a minute, he gives his answer.)
Echo: Shiny.
Photon: Exac-No! I'm a freak! You don't appear to be, excepting that explosive demonstration of yours a moment ago. Therefore, you should not be talking to me! Normal people don't associate with freaks!
Echo: Bilgewater! I'll talk to whoever I choose, an' woe to the fool who dares stop me! I'm the toughest pirate on these waters! Well…I will be, someday!
Photon: …….You truly are not frightened of me? Even the way I'm…glowing like this?
Echo: 'Course not! I've seen things that'll curl the hair on yer teeth! Yer not much in the fright department, lad!
Photon: (thinking) Interesting… He's either very brave, or very stupid…
(The two sit down near the base of the mountain…what's left of it. Some small rocks near the top are getting caught by higher winds and falling everywhere, like stone rain. The two ignore it and strike up conversation.)
Photon: …The Eye of the Fiends…I've read of it, but this is the first time I've spoken with someone who's actually made the dark contract…
Echo: Right, now that I've got ye talkin', let me tell ye me dream! I'm gonna get me a great big ship, gather a crew of the best there is in the world, and become the most feared pirate alive!
Photon: That's a big dream… How far along are you?
Echo: I'm me own crew, and I just got a little sailboat right now, but I will get there, ye mark me!
Photon: (thinking, sweatdropping) I guess that settles the whole brave/stupid question…
Echo: Oh, where's me manners? I'm Aidan, by the way. Aidan McQuain! But ye can call me…Captain Echo! That's the name I decided on fer meself! Me power is controllin' sounds, see? So…who're ye?
(The other boy glances at the ground, then responds.)
Photon: Just call me Photon.
Echo: Eh? "Photon?" Strange name ye got, lad…
Photon: It's not my name.
Echo: Ye just said it was!
Photon: I requested to be called that. I never said it was my name.
(One of the rocks from the decimated mountaintop falls on Echo's head at that moment, as if to drive the point home.)
Echo: Okay, score one fer ye, lad…
Photon: It's the technical term for a light particle. It represents my insignificance…and my shame! I won't go back to my real name until my shame is atoned for!
Echo: Sounds like ye've been through somethin', lad. How about tellin' me about it?
(Photon hesitates, then tells Echo everything; about his family, his former attempt to master the shadows, how a girl had ruined it for him, how his village had become terrified of the very sight of him…)
Photon: So I left. My parents don't know yet. I couldn't bear to let them see me like this… So, I've decided that I'm better off by myself. Furthermore…I've also decided that females are not to be trusted! What good are they anyway!? I've never come off better for associating with them…
Echo: And? What about yer dreams?
Photon: What?
Echo: Come on, I've told ye mine! What's yer dream? Declare it proudly, like I did!
Photon: (thinking) Dreams? That's just a word. Then again… If a fool like this can sail halfway around the world on his own… maybe…
(Photon turns and stares off into the horizon.)
Photon: Alright then. My dream is to prove that, even if I am stuck with this second-rate light magic, I can still become a great sorcerer! Even greater than my mightiest ancestor of all!
Echo: Good! That was perfect, lad!
Photon: Okay, stop calling me that! You're probably not any older then I am!
Echo: Yeah? When's yer birthday?
(They discuss it, and discover that they are of equal years, but Echo is older by two weeks and one day.)
Echo: Right, that's settled! Let's go then!
Photon: Huh? Go?
Echo: Aye! Ye'll be part of me pirate crew, an' we'll fulfill our dreams together! That magic of yers will come in handy fer the world's greatest crew!
Photon: You want…You want me to sail with you!?
Echo: Of course! I'll even make ye me first mate!
(Photon gets a very serious expression, apparently considering the request. He then stands up and stares Echo straight in the eye.)
Photon: Are you certain that you want me with you?
Echo: Positive! What do ye say?
(Photon brings his left hand up and bites a small hole into the tip of his thumb. He then traces the blood over his right palm, forming a fancy capitol "N" inside a circle.)
Photon: Hold out your hand, Aidan McQuain.
(Echo stands and tentatively sticks his right hand forward. Photon seizes it in the handshake position.)
Photon: From this day forward, I solemnly swear on the blood that runs through my veins, the blood of the most powerful magician clan in all the world, that I shall serve as the chief sorcerer for the crew of this man, Aidan McQuain, and that I shall fight at his side until we have achieved our dreams, whatever they may be at the time. So it has been decreed, so it shall be!
(A red glow surrounds the clasped hands and expands outward in a crimson flash. Photon releases Echo's hand, and they both examine their palms. The symbol is gleaming in red from the both of them. The symbols are both facing the same direction, so the transfer apparently did not mirror it off of Photon's hand.)
Photon: The blood pact is complete. This mark shall remain until one of us dies or breaks the promise.
Echo: What's this sign?
Photon: It's my family crest. We use it to seal our most serious vows. It will serve to remind us of what transpired here today. You will, of course, uphold the same promise.
Echo: Of course! I'm a pirate of me word! So… ye seem like a smart guy, what do ye think we should do next?
Photon: Our first priority is a proper-sized vessel. I don't know how much your boat can hold… Also, if we're pirates, that means we can expect some battles on the sea. For that, we need someone who can work a cannon…
Echo: An' a navigator. I'm only here 'cause I got lost.
Photon: That is not an issue. I can easily navigate for you.
Echo: Really!?
Photon: Well… in my spare time I like to stargaze. You don't look up at the stars for years without learning a few useful things.
Echo: Even better! Anythin' else ye want to tell me?
Photon: Hmm… That patch of yours seems to be missing something. Some kind of symbol, something that will really tell people who they're dealing with. If you want to become well known, that's a good way to do it…Captain.
Echo: Right, I'll work on that. Is that all?
Photon: You also might consider training yourself to use a weapon. I could do with one myself; only a fool relies entirely on his powers.
Echo: All this great advice yer givin' me… Is there anythin' ye want?
Photon: Do you like chess?
(The scene goes back to the inside of Titan's Tower. Echo now has tears flowing from his eyes. He has removed his patch so as not to soak it, but cannot stop the tears.)
Echo: We went through a lot together after that. It was a whole year before we met Shotman an' the crew really started pickin' up. Before that time, Photon an' I had countless adventures! We shared hard times, an' rough waters, an' quite a fair few nice days scattered in there… We're both the only children in our families, but we've been best mates fer so long that he's become just like a brother to me. There was never anythin' we couldn't face together! An' now…now me brother is dyin' an' there's nothin' I can do to help him! He never even got to fulfill his dream!
(Echo dissolves into more tears. Gemini puts her arms around him, trying to offer some comfort. The other members of the South team look frightened; they are not used to seeing Echo so completely shattered. Beast Boy stands up and moves towards the stairs.)
Beast Boy: It's been about an hour; I'm going to check on Terra.
-- Aww...Who knew Echo was such a softie at heart? Now then, next chapter begins what I know a lot of you have been waiting for; THE FLUFF!!! Yes, children, the glorious, wonderful, sickeningly-sweet-enough-to-give-you-cavities fluff! BBxTerra and RobxStar fans tune in! Thanks again to Texas Silver, and reminders to the rest of you to reveiw! We writers need reviews! They are the source of our evil powers. Next review gets a free cookie and a collapsable pony in the mail! - The Cap'n --